Casino games come in a variety of embodiments. There are the wager and spin games, such as reel or video slot machines, in which no player decision is required to effect the outcome of the game. The player simply makes a wager, pulls the handle or presses the SPIN button on the slot machine and the outcome is displayed to the player. The player has no control or input into the outcome of the game and the player wins or loses simply on the basis of a random event. The player cannot make a mistake or error that will affect the outcome of a game such as a slot machine.
There are other casino games in which the player has a modest input in the result of the game. In games such as Roulette or Keno, the player makes a wager and then selects one or more numbers that the player hopes will occur during the play of the game. The winning number or numbers are then randomly selected and winning and losing events are determined. While the player does have input at the beginning of each round of play, the outcome of the game is independent of any action or decision making by the player.
However, there are many casino games in which decision making by the player does affect the outcome of the game. Typical of these types of games is video draw poker. A player makes a wager to be eligible to play the game. After an initial deal of five cards is displayed to the player on a video display screen, the player is allowed to discard and replace unwanted cards with replacement cards. The player attempts to achieve the highest possible poker hand from the starting five cards. Video poker games use poker hand rankings to determine winning combinations and a payout schedule is used to determine the amount awarded to the player for achieving a winning combination.
Players often make mistakes in analyzing the starting five cards and determining which cards to hold and which cards to discard. Players also make mistakes by pressing the wrong buttons or by playing too fast and not recognizing which cards the player actually has as starting cards.
Casino games such as video draw poker offer the player a pay table that is based on the mathematical probabilities of the game being played. If the player were to play the game without making any strategy mistakes or other misplays of each hand, the gaming machine would return to the player over the long run the calculated mathematical game return based on the pay table presented to the player. Misplays of game strategy and other player errors lower the game return and diminish the player's chances of possibly having a winning session at the gaming machine.
It is possible to determine mathematically how a player should play each hand of cards that is presented to the player so that the player can have the best possible chance of maximizing the game return of the gaming machine being played. One well known way of determining player strategy is to calculate the highest expected value for each starting hand dealt to the player. The player then plays his hand in accordance with the strategy that has the highest expected value for the pay table being offered to the player. Players who are capable of recognizing the best way to play each starting hand have the best chance to have a winning session at the gaming machine.
However, most players are not capable of recognizing the best way to play each and every starting hand that a player is dealt in a game of video draw poker. Invariably, players will commit errors in playing each hand and the gaming establishment presently simply benefits from the errors made by the player in that the actual game return of the gaming machine is higher than the theoretical game return of the gaming machine had the player not made errors during the play of the game.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of determining the errors made by a player during the play of a casino game, calculating the affect of those errors on the game return and returning those errors in whole or in part to the player either directly or indirectly.
It is a feature of the present invention to analyze each starting hand of a game of chance played on a gaming machine and determine the highest expected value of the starting hand. The expected value of the starting hand as then played by the player is also determined and compared to the highest expected value of the starting hand. The difference, if any, is the error made by the player. The monetary value of the difference is accrued and returned in whole or in part to the player, either directly or indirectly.
It is an advantage of the present invention that the player has a fairer play of the gaming machine since the monetary value of any errors or a portion of the monetary values of any errors committed by the player during the play of the game are returned to the player. A player would be less reluctant to play a game of chance that the player was not totally comfortable with because the monetary value of any errors or a portion of the monetary value of any errors made by the player would be returned to the player over the course of playing the game. The gaming establishment would benefit from having more players and a higher volume of play.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description.